Inside Cisco's Proactive Talent Acquisition Strategy

According to a 2026 survey from LinkedIn, 79% of recruiters believe that finding skilled talent is becoming more challenging.

The survey finds that the majority of recruiters are experiencing challenges in talent acquisition due to dramatic increases in talent pools – with the number of applicants per role in the UK doubling since spring 2022 – and a rise in low-intent, AI-driven submissions. 

Kelly Jones, Chief People Officer of Cisco, agrees. She told Business Insider: "The qualified pool is so small, and the demand is so high”. 

For Kelly, the real difficulty stems from finding candidates with innate leadership qualities, particularly in such an oversaturated talent pool. 

She says: “We want to know, not only have you done these things, but are you intellectually curious? Are you intellectually and emotionally agile? Are you someone who brings your team along with you?”

To build a stronger talent strategy, Cisco has increased its digital capabilities and furthered its employee brand through employee advocacy. 

The company reports that this approach has resulted in a 35% reduction in hiring costs over three years and improved overall performance, as it takes steps to become more proactive in the way it hires. 

A digital-first approach to attracting top talent 

To attract high performing candidates, Cisco is using AI to create a more proactive talent strategy. 

The company uses its AI capabilities to analyse the profiles of passive talent and generate personalised outreach messages, helping to engage candidates who may not have been actively searching for new opportunities.

Discussing this strategy with Business Insider, Francine Katsoudas, the company's Executive Vice President and Chief People, Policy and Purpose Officer, says: “What we have learned is that you can be so much more customised via AI than ever before.”

Cisco has also begun using AI to schedule interviews, with Francine telling Business Insider that "when you can do all that via AI, it’s speed".

To further reduce friction in the hiring process, Cisco developed its “one system” approach.  

Initially, the company's recruiting team was working with seven different systems to connect with talent, meaning that potential candidates were dealing with a longer and more complicated process. 

To streamline this, the business decided to consolidate these systems into one platform, streamlining the hiring lifecycle by incorporating everything from application to onboarding. 

Always be recruiting

Outside of its digital capabilities, Cisco is leveraging something equally powerful to attract talent in a competitive market – a workforce of over 86,000 employees. 

The company encourages its employees to act as brand ambassadors to promote roles and share positive company experiences within their own social networks. 

With LinkedIn research finding that companies with a successful employee advocacy programme are more likely to attract and retain top talent, this approach establishes a continuous and proactive talent pipeline. 

As part of this continuous approach, the company also maintains relationships with past candidates. Keeping these candidates engaged and informed about future opportunities allows Cisco to ensure faster role placement when new opportunities arise. 

Discussing the company’s proactive recruitment strategy with Randstad, Jill Larsen, former Senior Vice President of HR and Talent said: “It’s really about differentiating ourselves. 

“We’re doing a lot of different things with our brand to make Cisco more accessible to talent. We’re talking to many different audiences with relevant messaging. We have to because we’re competing with start-ups, with incubators, as well as some large companies for critical talent and skills.”